Magical Dares
by mayat09
Summary: Dare Belacqua is an abandoned orphan who soon finds herself thrown into the world of magic when she's accepted to Hogwarts. Follows through the first book with my OC. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I do not own any Harry Potter characters nor the events that correspond to the novels by JK Rowling. Genavieve Dare Belacqua is my own original character and I reserve all copyright on her. :)**

Dare Belacqua scanned the heads of the first years surrounding her. She could feel the butterflies rise up in her stomach, threatening to explode. Someone knocked into her shoulder, throwing her slightly off balance.

"Sorry," the person said, glancing up at Dare. The girl looked nervous.

But Dare couldn't imagine who could be more nervous. Dare pushed her bright red hair back from her face.

For the past couple of hours, she'd been unable to convince herself fully that this wasn't a dream, that this was real. She was a witch; she could do magic; she was at a school most unfortunately named Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

* * * * * *

Dare lived in an orphanage for most of her life, unaware of her abilities. Of course, strange things always happened to her when she was upset, angry, or scared, but never in her life would she have thought magic was the reason. It was surreal, to say the least. Her only friends were all much younger than she was; she'd been the oldest at the orphanage at the age of ten. When she turned eleven, she was to be sent off to a foster care home, somewhere in Surrey, away from anything familiar.

Yet, something else had happened when she turned eleven on the second of July. She'd received a most curious letter. Everything about it had been strange, including it's delivery as it had been dropped off by a brawny barn owl, down to it's yellowish parchment, glittery green ink handwriting and more than anything, the address.

Ms. G. Belacqua

The Little Children Orphanage

Room 808, second four-poster bed

Berkshire, England

Dare ripped open the letter when Mrs. Notting, the maid, had handed it to her; she'd never received a letter before in her life and was curious as to who the writer could possibly be.

She took out the letter with trembling fingers, but before she could read it, Penelope – one of the little girls at the orphanage who admired Dare more for her advanced age than anything else – came bursting into the room in tears.

Dare sat the letter down immediately where it slip off her bed and underneath it, not to be remembered until later that night when everyone else had fallen asleep.

She grabbed the letter from under her bed and searched the room for some source of light, but found the moonlight over by the window the only place. She squeezed herself as close to the warm window as possible, straining her eyes as she read the letter:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of _WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Ms. Belacqua,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at_

_ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list _

_ of all necessary books and equipment._

_ Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later _

_ than July 31._

_ Yours sincerely,_

_ Minerva McGonagall,_

_ Deputy Headmistress_

Dare reread it fifty times before she finally decided either the moon or another orphan was playing a trick on her. Did they actually expect her to believe this? Well, the average age of all one hundred some children was about five, so higher levels of thinking weren't commonplace.

She searched the letter and realized nowhere on the grounds was there a computer except in the secretary's office at the front of the building. Had one of the orphans snuck in there? Then again, even the oldest orphan, besides herself, was only eight years old. How could sweet, shy, freckled Tomas do such a thing to her? The answer: he wouldn't.

The secretary, surely, wouldn't do something like this. She was textbook strict and preferred to keep away from all the children. Not that she was unkindly, she just had an itching to punish any child that behaved like anything other than an obedient rock.

She decided she would forget about the letter; it was utter nonsense and she wouldn't become part of such an immature joke. It was her pride that hurt worse of all; she had never received a letter in her entire life, yet the first time she did and it was some hideous joke.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Dare had not forgotten about the letter at all. In fact, she pretended to be sick when the maid came in to wake them for school.

The room Dare presided in wasn't very large. It held five, four-poster beds. Underneath each was every orphan's trunk where they kept clothes and other such items; she shared the room with the other four older orphans, the youngest being seven. Dare's bed was the second from the door. On the opposite side of the room was a window, tall and large, with a six-inch indent into the wall – just large enough for someone of Dare's small stature to sit in.

At the orphanage, there was a small school where every orphan four and older attended. The teachers were kind and helpful, but Dare longed for the company of someone her own age as a playmate. She felt secluded from the winsome dreams of the younger children. The orphanage was only for children ten and younger, so once Dare turned eleven, she would be sent away to a foster home. She had already met her new pseudo parents; they were strict with sallow faces. The couple looked more like brother and sister than husband and wife. Each was older than fifty and Dare didn't wonder why the woman hadn't had any children; where would the baby go? She and her husband's bodies were both alike; spindly, with bones sticking out in awkward places, pale, and they simply look malnourished.

Dare was assured by her math teacher, Professor Tibbins, that every home and family that was certified in taking care of foster children was safe, and if Dare ever had any problems, she would always be allowed to contact the orphanage. But Dare wasn't so sure. She didn't want to leave.

The maid passed by Dare's bed that morning and told her that she would inform the headmistress of Dare's illness. Dare thanked her and pretended to sink off to sleep once more, but as soon as the maid left the room, Dare snatched the letter from inside her pillow case and reread it. It still said the same, nonsensical thing. She threw it away. There was no sense in looking for hope in something so ridiculous.

The next day at lunch, Dare was chewing absentmindedly on her hamburger when the headmistresses – a woman of a burly nature with straight, brown hair – came up to her and handed her a letter. Dare took it hesitantly and found that it was the same letter she'd received the night before.

"Follow me, Ms. Belacqua. You have a visitor," said the headmistress sternly.

Dare heard whispering behind her as she made her way to the front office at the heels of the headmistress.

"Ms. Belacqua," the headmistress announced to whoever was in the room. Dare first spied the secretary who was looking more annoyed than normal, then peering sheepishly around the headmistress' leg, she spotted her visitor.

He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing a suit, which looked odd to Dare. It seemed like he belonged somewhere on a movie screen, never in Berkshire, England. Underneath his dress pants, though, he was wearing boots instead of dress shoes, which made Dare curious as to who this man was. His eyes were bright blue (quite like Dare's own) and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles. His nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice.

"Good afternoon, Debra." The old man greeted the headmistress like an old friend, but the headmistress looked less stern and more nervous now.

"Albus." She nodded her head as a way of acknowledgement. There was a moment of silence before the headmistress turned to the annoyed secretary and said, "Would you mind, Linda?" The secretary scowled at the old man as if this was his doing before walking into the back room and shutting the door loudly.

"This is the second time, Albus," said the headmistress. She seemed to relax a little now that the secretary had gone and it was just the three of them. "And how do you expect me to explain to the foster parents? I can't constantly keep telling them 'boarding school.' The community will catch on."

Albus nodded in understanding. He looked at Dare for the first time and she found herself half hiding behind the headmistress in embarrassment, but his eyes were warm and his smile, warmer. She looked out a bit more and stared up at the headmistress, waiting for her to explain.

"And what if I refuse?" the headmistress said, folding her arms across her chest.

Albus looked amused. "Well, certainly there should be no reason for that, Debra. We have ways. If you feel that lying is the issue, we will step in, of course. But if she grows up without knowing, think of the possibilities. Already she is showing signs of a true witch and I should think no less with her parentage."

Dare tried to take everything in and fit it together, but nothing seemed to make sense. Besides… did he just say "witch"? Dare's mind floated back to the letter and she realized suddenly why his name was so familiar. "Albus Dumbledore" had been the name of the headmaster of the so-called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This was unbelievable. Dare listened intently, now.

"I see," said the headmistress, looking down at Dare. "You will take care of her?" Her eyes softened like no other time Dare had seen them. "She is like the older sister here at the orphanage, the other children will be sad to see her go."

"Of course," said Albus. Dare looked up at him, afraid now. Was she leaving? He nodded, as in answer to her unspoken question. It gave her chills; could he read her mind?

"Genavieve," Albus said. He used her first name as opposed to her middle name, Dare, which she normally preferred. "My name is Professor Dumbledore and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"I know," Dare said smartly. "I got the letter."

He nodded approvingly. "And you are a witch."

Dare laughed. It was an unexpected reaction, even for herself. "This is a joke, right?"

He grinned happily at her, as if enjoying the joke himself. "I'm quite happy to tell you it is not. Unfortunately, I will be unable to take you to get your things as I had hoped. But I will leave you in the care of Rubeus Hagrid, our gamekeeper at the school. He's got a big personality, but I would trust him with my life."

Dare shook her head. "You're kidding, right? I mean… magic doesn't exist."

"On the contrary, Ms. Belacqua, magic does indeed exist and you are a magic user. I know you must have a million questions, but I'm afraid I must be off. Hagrid will be here shortly to pick you up. I believe he has another occupant with him, who I hope you will find most interesting to talk to. And I'm sure Hagrid would be delighted to answer any of your questions."

A million questions _did_ race through Dare's mind and she tried to find the right ones to ask, but Professor Dumbledore interrupted.

"I must go, now, but you must promise me one thing, Genavieve; you must not speak of this to any of your fellow orphans here. We wizards and witches like to keep a low profile." He winked at her and shook hands with the headmistress, who seemed to have heard all of this before. "Good-bye for now. I'll see you the first of September."

Dare stood wide-eyed for a moment before glancing up at the headmistress for confirmation that that had just happened. The headmistress, in turn, looked down at her and grinned sadly. "You should get packed, Ms. Belacqua. I do not know if you will be returning here."

Dare went to her room and pulled out her trunk from underneath her bed. Everything was happening so fast, she just wanted time to stop. There wasn't much to pack; material items weren't in abundance when there was no where to shop and uniforms were provided by the school. As she sat on the trunk, with her chin in her hands, she heard a knock on her door.

It wasn't the headmistress, as she had been expecting, but the maid, who politely said, "Ms. Belacqua, you're needed in the office. You won't need to bring anything." Dare eyed her trunk, then left the room, heading toward the front office.


	3. Chapter 3

Once inside, she had to stop herself was gasping. She froze and looked up at the man in front of her. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so _wild_ – long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins.

The secretary, who was back at her desk now, looked extremely apprehensive; she seemed to be deciding if she should run away.

"All right, Dare?" he said kindly. His voice was deep and thunderous, but Dare found herself liking him, regardless of his appearance.

She nodded. "You're Hagrid," she said.

"Tha's right," he agreed, smiling. "Well, we better get goin'. Diagon Alley will packed full today."

Dare didn't know where they were going or what Diagon Alley was, but she followed the giant out the door, anyway.

In the driveway, which was normally empty, there stood a great black motorcycle and Dare could only assume who it belonged to.

"You'll have to snuggle up a bit, I'm afraid," Hagrid said, motioning to the large side-car attached to the motorcycle. In the side-car was a boy about Dare's age who looked just as confused as Dare felt. He had jet-black hair and as she got close to him she noted bright green eyes from behind perfectly round glasses.

"Hullo," Dare greeted the boy. "I'm Dare Belacqua."

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter." He seemed to be watching her for some reaction, but he got none, so he scooted over instead, allowing her room to squeeze in next to him. "Do you live here?" he asked, looking up at the orphanage.

Dare nodded, placing her elbow on the side of the car as Hagrid started the motorcycle.

"It's much nicer on the inside," she assured him as the motorcycle took off.

He realized at once that she was embarrassed by the place, so he said, "Both my parents are dead. You're lucky to live somewhere like this. I've had to live with my aunt and uncle my whole life."

"I'm sure having some family is better than none," Dare noted.

He shook his head. "If you knew my aunt and uncle, you wouldn't be saying that."

"They can't be half bad, can they?"

"For the first ten years of my life, I had to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs."

"Oh." Dare looked down, embarrassed.

"It wasn't all bad," he said quickly.

"Are you a … wizard?" Dare asked.

"I… Yes. I was just told. I don't know a thing about it, or anything."

"Me neither," Dare agreed, glad she wasn't the only one who was behind the times.

But then they couldn't talk anymore because the wind rushing past them was too loud.


	4. Chapter 4

When Dare opened her eyes, the motorcycle had stopped and they were in a parking lot. A road sign told Dare they were in London. She and Harry hopped out and Hagrid got off the bike.

Dare nor Harry had ever been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.

"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.

"Muggles?" Dare said.

"Non-magic folk," Hagrid explained.

Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry and Dare had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand.

Dare inspected her school supplies list that was enclosed in the letter.

**UNIFORM**

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

**COURSE BOOKS**

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _**by Miranda Goshawk**

_A History of Magic_ **by Bathilda Bagshot**

_Magical Theory _**by Adalbert Waffling**

_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_ **by Emeric Switch**

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ **by Phyllida Spore**

_Magical Drafts and Potions_ **by Arsenius Jigger**

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _**by Newt Scamander**

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ **by Quentin Trimble**

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS**

** ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

Harry was happy to note that his list was the same and they could therefore shop together.

"Can we buy all this in London?" Dare wondered aloud.

"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.

They were on an ordinary street with ordinary people. Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? But Dare couldn't help but trust Hagrid, and Harry felt the same way.

"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Dare wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Dare had the most peculiar feeling that only she, Harry, and Hagrid could see it. Before she could mention this, Hagrid had steered them inside.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"

"Can't Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder. Dare saw Harry's knees buckle.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this – can this be –?"

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.

"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… what an honor."

He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry almost knocking Dare over, and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."

Harry was speechless. Everyone was looking at him. Dare stared at him, too, wondering what on Earth could cause this sort of reaction.

For the next twenty minutes, people bombarded Harry like he was a celebrity, including their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell. Dare stayed back next to Hagrid and stared on.

"All righ', then. We've got to move on," Hagrid said, pulling Harry from the crowd.

"I didn't know you were famous," Dare said, looking over at Harry who seemed just as shocked as she was.

"I-… I don't really know," Harry said.

"Course ya are!" Hagrid said, leading them through a back door to a brick wall. "Harry, here, is known by every witch an' wizard ever. He defeated You-Know-Who when he was jus' a li'l' baby."

"Who?" Dare asked.

"Voldemort," Harry said. Dare saw Hagrid twitch at the name.

"Don' say that name!" Hagrid warned.

"He was the darkest and most evil wizard ever. When I was a year old, he tried to kill me, but when he tried, he lost all his powers and vanished."

"How?"

"No one knows," Hagrid said, inspecting the wall and mumbling to himself.

"Is he dead?" Dare asked curiously. "And why don't you want us to say his name?"

"Some think he's dead, some – including myself and Dumbledore – think he's just biding his time… and no one in the wizarding world speaks the name of You-Know-Who."

Hagrid tapped a couple bricks with an umbrella he brought out of his jacket and the wall opened. It was the first show of magic Dare had ever really seen and she gaped at the street in front of her, full of people decked in robes and some with hats. Rows and rows of stores that sold cauldrons, robes, books, potions, wands, and other wizard items lined the crowded street. Dare, Harry, and Hagrid squeezed in and became part of the throng.


	5. Chapter 5

An hour later, Dare and Harry only had more place to go: Ollivander's. The wand shop was empty when the two went inside. Hagrid had told them a half hour earlier he would meet them there, and sure enough Hagrid showed up outside the wide window, brandishing an ice cream; he pointed at it, showing them that he couldn't come in.

"Hello, there." Ollivander was an old man with wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Hullo," Harry said awkwardly.

"Ah. Harry Potter. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Mr. Ollivander's eyes moved to Dare.

"I believe I know – yes. Genavieve Belacqua, yes?" Dare nodded slowly. "You're mother was a charming young lady. Your father never came to get a wand. I believe his was passed on from his father… but I've heard enough to know that that isn't such a bad thing." He gave Dare an accusing look.

"I'm sorry, but do you know my parents?" Dare asked.

"Mm." Mr. Ollivander turned away and started scanning the massive shelves of little boxes behind him. "Here." He handed Dare and Harry each a box and they opened them.

Inside lay a wand. Dare's was longer than Harry's and a lighter color. He pointed to Dare's wand first. "Willow. Eleven and a half inches. Unicorn hair." Dare took it in her right hand and instantly felt a very strange, very wonderful sensation in her arm. When she flicked the wand as instructed, silver and gold sparks came out the end like a tiny firework.

"Very nice," Mr. Ollivander said happily. "Lovely, lovely. Go on, Harry." Dare turned to watch as Harry took his out of the box, but before Harry could even look at it, Mr. Ollivander had snatched it back, mumbling to himself.

And it went on for another ten minutes; no wand seemed right for Mr. Ollivander.

"The wand chooses the wizard," Mr. Ollivander kept muttering.

Finally, Harry found his wand and Mr. Ollivander got a look in his eye like no other.

"Curious… very curious…" he said slowly.

"Sorry," said Harry, "but _what's_ curious?"

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather – just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother – why, its brother gave you that scar."

Dare looked at Harry and noted a scar on Harry's forehead she had not noticed before.

Harry and Dare bought their wands and left. Outside, Hagrid was no longer holding ice cream, but two owls, instead, each in its own cage. One was black and the other snowy white.

"Bought ya both birthday presents," Hagrid said, holding out the cages.

Dare took the black owl from Hagrid and smiled happily. "Hagrid you didn't have to!" The owl hooted at her happily.

"Yeah, thanks Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed happily.

"Now, can you tell me?" Dare asked Hagrid, continuing an early debate.

Before they had begun shopping, Hagrid had taken them to the wizard's bank, Gringotts. Sitting in a vault was a fortune for both Harry and Dare. Dare's vault may even have been bigger than Harry's. Upon questioning Hagrid about where all the gold had come from, Hagrid said he couldn't tell on Dumbledore's orders.

"Come on, then," he said loudly, ignoring Dare's question.

Harry shrugged at her.


	6. Chapter 6

When Hagrid dropped Dare off back at the orphanage, Dare's arms full of books, robes, quills, and parchment, she was sad to see Harry and Hagrid go. Another month and they'd be back, though, so Dare waved good-bye with a smile.

* * * * * *

The next month passed slowly. When August thirty-first finally came, Dare couldn't be more nervous. The headmistress had arranged a car to take Dare to Kings Cross where she was to catch the train. She clutched the ticket in her pocket as the old car bumped into the train station parking lot. The cabbie helped Dare's stuff onto a trolley and apologized that he couldn't see her off, but he was needed again later. She thanked him and set off to look for her train.

She removed the ticket from her pocket and looked. "Platform nine and three-quarters," she said to herself quietly. She eyed the barriers and became frightened as she found that there was no platform nine and three-quarters. She was almost going to ask one of the security guards, but then she heard the most amazing thing she'd heard in a month.

"Look at all these muggles!" came a high-pitched voice. "All right then, Percy, you first."

Grouped around the solid-metal barrier between platforms nine and ten where a lively bunch of redheads. The speaker, a stout woman with a friendly face, was yelling at what must have been all of her sons. Attached to her hip was one little girl, probably only a year younger than Dare.

Dare pushed her trolley toward the group cautiously and watched in amazement as the oldest, Percy, pushed his trolley _into_ the barrier. Just as he did so, a large group of tourist-looking muggles rushed past, blocking most of what had just happened from view. Dare stared in awe as she approached the family. The youngest, a skinny redheaded boy about Dare's age, was looking just as frightened at the prospect of going through the wall, but clearly not as shocked.

Then, to Dare's delight, she saw Harry come up on the other side of the family. Dare shot her hand up and yelled, "Harry!" He looked over and smiled, just as happy as she was to see a familiar face.

"Hullo!" Harry said.

The redhead mom was now ushering two of her sons – obviously twins – through the barrier. Finally, her youngest son was left and Harry decided to approach her.

"Er… excuse me… but how do you—? I mean to say –"

"You don't know how to get through to the platform, dear?" she said kindly. "Well, here. Just go straight through. Best to do it at a run if you're nervous. You can go after Ron."

The boy Ron ran straight through the barrier and disappeared.

"Thank you, ma'am," Dare said politely.

"Oh, you're very welcome." The woman eyed the clock, then told Harry and Dare to hurry through.

It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but it was quite a shock as Dare passed through the barrier to the other side to find a great, steaming train, ready to head off.

The redheaded mother followed Harry and Dare where they gave off their trolleys, except a pair of robes for changing into on the train, to a worker. Harry and Dare worked to find an empty compartment and spotted one at the back of the train. They settled in and Harry began explaining all that had happened while back at the Dursley's (his aunt and uncle's).

"—and they sure didn't like Hedwig. She was uncomfortable, because they locked her up! Lucky for me, after they got my Hogwarts letter, they were scared out of their minds, so they gave me Dudley's second bedroom where he keeps all his broken toys."

"_Second_ bedroom?" Dare asked in disbelief. "I've not even had my own before! Let alone, two."

Harry nodded. "He's a great brute, too. He likes to use me as his punching bag." Harry gestured to his glasses where Dare noticed the bridge of the nose was taped up. "So what did you do?"

"Nothing. At the orphanage, we have a normal school for all of us – normal stuff, mind, like arithmetic and science – so I spent the time getting tons of work done. Besides that, nothing extraordinary happened. I was supposed to have foster parents, now, you know."

"Foster parents? Why's that?" Harry asked curiously.

Dare liked this. She'd never really had someone to talk to before that could understand her or care.

"The orphanage is only for children ten years and younger. Once someone turns eleven, they're sent off to a foster home. I was the only ten-year-old. So once I turned eleven during the summer, my foster parents were to come and take me away. I liked it at the orphanage; I didn't want to leave."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, Ron opened the door of the compartment. "I'm sorry. Everywhere else is full. Do you mind –?" Ron looked guilty as realized Dare and Harry had been in the middle of a conversation, but Dare was keen to make friends.

"Yes!" she said excitedly. "Come on in."

He grinned and sat down across from Harry and next to Dare. "My name's Ron," he said. "Ron Weasley."

"I'm Dare Belacqua," Dare said, smiling at him.

"Harry Potter," Harry said.

Ron froze. "Harry – _The_ Harry Potter?" He gazed at Harry open-mouthed as Harry nodded once, then realized and looked out the window, embarrassed.

Suddenly, the twin redheads burst in. "Ronald!" the first said.

"Lee's got a giant tarantula, so we'll be in the next compartment, but we wanted to see who your new friends were," the second said.

Ron turned a pale color as he looked at his twin older brothers. "Erm. This is… Dare and this is –"

"Well, I'll be, Fred," said the first twin, "it's Harry Potter!"

The second twin, apparently named Fred, gazed at Harry's forehead for a second and leaned against the side of the doorway, clearly impressed.

"Well, I'm Fred," he said, "and this is my brother, George."

"I guess you've met Ronald, here," George said mockingly.

"And our other brother, Percy, is a prefect, up in the prefect compartment," Fred said.

"Probably polishing his badge—"

"—again," Fred finished, with a sad look.

"Well, it was good meeting you all. I'll see you around."

"Bye, then," Fred said, winking at Dare before finally shutting the compartment door.

"Sorry about that," Ron muttered, looking down at his feet.

"I wish I had siblings," Dare mused.

Harry nodded in agreement.

"No you don't," Ron said, looking up and obviously happier that he knew they didn't hate him. "They fight, steal, _and_ they're a pain in the neck."

Dare shrugged. "I wouldn't mind so much, I don't think. So, how many siblings _do_ you have?"

Ron shook his head. "Five brothers, one sister. All of them older, except Ginny, who's not old enough to go to Hogwarts until next year."

"Are you all redheads?" Dare wondered.

"Yes," Ron said.

"I feel outnumbered," Harry laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

When the trolley came by, Dare and Harry pulled together some galleons and bought enough snacks to last them the entire trip, plus some.

Harry picked up a box that read "Chocolate Frog" and he opened it. Inside, there was a chocolate frog, and underneath, a card. Harry looked at it.

"It's Dumbledore!" he exclaimed happily.

"Aw, yeah," Ron said through a mouthful of some unknown pastry, "I have a bunch of him."

"What?" Harry looked scared for a moment. "He's gone!" He was looking at the card as though it were cursed.

"Well, what do you expect? He can't stand there all day, can he?" Ron reasoned.

Dare laughed. "So have you known about this all your life, then?"

"What? You mean magic? Oh yeah!" Ron said, picking up a Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans bag. "Both my mum and my dad can do magic and they both went to Hogwarts. How about you?"

"I lived in a muggle orphanage my entire life. The first time I found out was when Dumbledore himself showed up there," Dare explained.

Ron looked at Harry for his explanation and Harry obliged, saying, "I live with my aunt and uncle, now. They're both muggles, and they never told me my mum was a witch or my dad was a wizard, so I never knew until Hagrid came and got me."

"Hagrid?" Ron wondered aloud. "Oh yeah. The Gamekeeper, right?"

Harry nodded.

Just then a girl opened the compartment door. She had bushy, brown hair and large front teeth. "Have you seen Neville's toad?" she asked. "He's lost it." Dare saw behind her there was a tall boy with dark, shaggy hair.

Everyone in Dare's compartment shook his or her head. The girl huffed and left, closing the door behind her.

"Toads kind of went out of style years ago," Ron explained in a hushed voice. "People were always losing them."

"Look!" Dare said suddenly, pointing out the window to her right. There, on a high cliff with its lit-up windows, spiraling turrets, and great towers was Hogwarts castle. It was the most amazing thing Dare had ever seen. Harry and Ron looked on, also, all three unable to peel their eyes away, until a prefect – obviously Percy – came in and told them they needed to get changed into their robes.

As they hopped down the steps onto the platform from the train, Dare caught sight of Hagrid. He was carrying a lantern that shone his face above the crowd and Dare grabbed Harry by the arm of his robe and pulled him towards Hagrid.

"Firs' years!" Hagrid called. "Firs' years, follow me!"

"Hello, Hagrid!" Dare said happily.

"Ah! It's little Dare and Harry! How was the ride?"

Dare opened her mouth to answer, but was too quickly ushered off behind Hagrid. They were led to a small fleet of rowboats and were instructed to clamber inside, four to one boat. Dare sat with Ron, Harry, and the girl who had been looking for Neville's toad.

And then they were inside – nervous, confused, exhilarated – stuffed into the entrance hall.

The girl who hit Dare's arm was the same girl who had been looking for the girl and had been in the rowboat with her.

"Oh!" The girl seemed pleased that the person she hit was someone she was already acquainted (somewhat) with. "My name's Hermione Granger, by the way." She grinned and Dare smiled back.

"I'm Dare. Dare Belacqua," Dare said. She felt Harry tug on Dare's arm. "What is it?" she asked.

In a low voice he asked, "Do you know what Slytherin is?"

Dare didn't, of course, have the slightest idea, but Hermione was quick to jump on the subject. "There are four houses," she explained, "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. The first thing first years do is get sorted into one house where they preside for their whole seven years."

"How do we get sorted?" Dare wondered aloud.

Hermione shrugged, but answered, "I hope it's some test of knowledge. I've read all of our textbooks. I think I got most everything."

Dare looked worriedly at Harry and found she wasn't the only one who hadn't read her textbook.

"Fred told me it hurts," Ron said in a small voice. "But knowing Fred and George, they were probably lying." He didn't look too certain of himself.

"I, personally, want to be in Gryffindor," said Hermione. "Although, Ravenclaw wouldn't be bad, either."

"My whole _family's_ been in Slytherin for _years_, now," said a whiney voice from somewhere behind Dare. "I think I'd probably _die_ before I got into Hufflepuff." There was a mass of sniggering and Dare turned around slightly to see who it was.

A boy with a pale, pointed face and almost-bleach-white hair stood just a little taller than Dare. He smiled mockingly at her. "What about you?" he asked.

"I think I'd rather be in Hufflepuff than any house with you," Dare spat. There were a couple "ooo's" that resounded from around her. She was satisfied with herself; she could tell some people around him had been hurt by his words, but when she looked over for Ron's and Harry's reaction, Ron's face looked distraught.

He squeezed next to her and whispered, "I think you just insulted Draco Malfoy!" Dare didn't know who Draco Malfoy was or why insulting him was such a crime, but she wasn't able to find out; a strict-looking, skinny witch had walked into the entrance hall through a set of large doors.

"First years," she said, "I am Professor McGonagall. We will be taking you inside the Great Hall now where you will be sorted. We will call you alphabetically. Follow me."

A hushed whispering sounded from around Dare, but she, Harry, Ron, and even Hermione grew silent. As they entered the Great Hall, Dare couldn't help but gaping with the rest of the first years at the immensely beautiful decorations. The ceiling above her appeared not to exist at all, as if it was the night sky. Four banners hung from the sky on nothing, each in front of a different, long table where students sat and talked happily with one another.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Instantly, the Great Hall grew silent. "The sorting will begin."

Then Dare saw it; it was an old, busted up wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.

The hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge me on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_That Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind, _

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The entire hall burst into applause and Dare had to admit – for a hat, that was quite good!


	8. Chapter 8

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Dare heard Ron whisper to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Professor McGonagall walked up to the stool where the hat sat, holding a roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over he eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause –

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right, with the black and yellow banner cheered and clapped loudly.

"Belacqua, Dare!"

Dare froze and had to will herself to move. She stepped up, trying to remember one foot after the other so she wouldn't trip and make a fool of herself. She made it safely to the stool; she put on the hat; she sat down.

A voice, as though inside her head said, "Hmmm, yes… Very smart, I see… cunning… Loyal, of course. You would do very well in Ravenclaw."

The prospect of being in Slytherin with the boy she'd insulted made her stomach churn, but the thought of Ravenclaw wasn't exactly what she'd hoped for. She saw herself absorbed in schoolwork with no time for socializing before the hat interrupted:

"Not Ravenclaw? You are brilliant; you could go far with the right teaching, but I suppose you know best. Better be… GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the last part and a table erupted in cheers just in front of Dare. She rushed off to sit next to Fred – the only person she recognized at the table.

"Excellent!" Fred yelled over the noise. He gave her a high-five and she laughed. She waited patiently until they got to "Granger," who became Gryffindor. She smiled at Hermione as she sat across from Dare. After a long wait, both Harry and Ron became Gryffindor, too, with a lot of cheering on Harry's part.

"Welcome to Gryffindor," Fred said happily, putting his arm around Dare.

* * * * * *

Three years later, Dare sat in the little niche in the window, staring longingly out onto the orphanage grounds, wishing more than ever that she could use a broom … or own one, for that matter. Being stuck inside a cramped building was so unlike life at Hogwarts castle, Dare half-wished a wizard would apparate right in front of her so she could be sure it wasn't a dream.

But she was banned from any magical contacts because the orphanage was already taking her in through its own kindness and refused to let any of the other children be subject to such "lies." Which is what it was, according to every professor there, with the exception of the headmistress; she seemed to be the only person who gave Dare any credit for going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Dare looked up at the almost-full moon and wished something would happen that could remind her of the real home she'd left behind. A tiny black something whisked past the glow of the moon. Dare gasped quietly; had she imagined it? The tiny black object flashed past the light again, this time closer. Dare stood up and stared, eyes wide-open, trying to catch the object again. Suddenly, with a leap of her heart, she realized what it was.

She thrust open the window and a battered gray owl flew in recklessly. Tied to its left talon was a rolled piece of parchment. When the owl landed (though it more or less crashed) onto the wood paneling of Dare's room, Dare snatched up the letter.

Errol, the old and tired owl, flopped over, breathing heavily. Dare scooped him up and placed him on the niche in the window, looking around to make sure she hadn't woken any of the other orphan children who were fast asleep.

She unrolled the weather beaten parchment and read:

_Dare,_

_Sorry we had to use Errol. Fred, Percy, and George have been using their owls non stop all summer. Hopefully the bird made it, anyway. _

_Hermione invited everyone to meet her at Diagon Alley the week before school starts, if you haven't gotten your letter yet. Any chance you can meet us there? We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron for this week and next, so whenever you show up. You might want to send your own owl for a reply, I don't know if Errol's up for a second adventure._

_Ron_

_P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He seems pretty excited about it._

Dare looked up at Errol who was now standing, looking at Dare reproachfully.

"I don't have anything to give you," whispered Dare. "Sorry."

Errol snapped his beak and took flight out the window before Dare could say another word.

Dare made her way over to her bed, second four-poster away from the door, and unlocked her black owl Zelda's cage. She hooted happily; Dare wasn't normally allowed to let her owl out, normally once a week.

"Hold on," Dare whispered, "I need you to take a letter to Ron."

Zelda stepped obediently onto Dare's right arm and Dare took out a quill, a bottle of ink, and parchment from the inside of her desk drawer, upon which sat Zelda's cage.

Dare brought Zelda to the window niche and let her stand happily, stretching her great wings, as Dare wrote back:

_Ron,_

_ Thanks for the letter. I'll hopefully be able to convince the headmistress to let me leave early. At the earliest, I'll be there tomorrow. I'll ask Zelda to come back, just in case she says no. _

_ Dare _

Dare folded up the paper and tied it around Zelda's outstretched leg. Just as Dare finished the knot, a brawny brown owl flew in: Hermione.

Dare took the letter from the owl and it quickly departed. Dare untied the letter and read:

_Dare, _

_ Hopefully this gets to you before it's too late. My family and I have been in France! Have you heard about Sirius Black? It's rather scary, don't you think? Well, I'm going to be at the Leaky Cauldron early this year, one week before school, so if you could meet me there, that would be brilliant! Hope your summer's going well!_

_ Hermione_

Dare took out another piece of parchment and quickly wrote:

_Hermione,_

_ I'm going to try and be there, but who knows if my headmistress will let me. If all goes well, I'll be there tomorrow. France? And who's Sirius Black? You'll have to forgive me – I'm often magic-ignorant over the summer; I don't have any contacts. Miss you!_

_ Dare _

Dare tied it onto Zelda's leg and whispered, "They're both at the Leaky Cauldron, Zelda. Fly safely." At that, Zelda hooted softly and took off out the open window. Dare shut the window and went to bed.


End file.
